Returning to Office Building No. 1 in the administrative area, Amy Pascal was already waiting for him in the rest area next to Simon's office on the fifth floor.
Simon had dinner with Spielberg at noon, and Amy was also not free, but invited Robert Rehm.
After the original acquisition of New World Entertainment, New World Entertainment CEO Robert Rehm was retained by Simon as the president of Daenerys Entertainment in charge of the film distribution business. The contract period was from August 1988 to July 1991, a total of three years. That is due next month.
Because of some unpleasant things like salary increase and job-hopping, and Simon didn't really recognize Rem's ability, and Rem was a bit older, he didn't plan to renew the contract this time.
Amy and Rem were talking about each other's resignation next month at noon.
After Robert Rehm leaves, his position will be taken over by Mark Belford, who Simon has been cultivating in recent years.
Signaling Amy not to get up, Simon sat down opposite her and asked, "How was your conversation with Bob?"
Amy put the newspaper she had just flipped through on the round table in front of her and said, "Bob officially signed a contract with Paramount yesterday. After completing the handover of affairs here next month, he will officially leave."
Since Daenerys Entertainment acquired MCA, Lehman has actually started looking for a new home.
Simon also knew about this, and Martin Davis, chairman of Paramount Communications, even greeted him specifically.
Although there have been some rifts, Rem has generally done her duty in the past three years, so Daenerys Entertainment's public statement is just a normal job adjustment.
No negative news has spread, and Daenerys Entertainment's performance in film production and distribution in recent years has been obvious to all. Robert Ream, who has personally witnessed the rise of Daenerys Entertainment, has naturally become the target of other studios to win over.
Shirley Lansing, who was expected to join Paramount, was cut off by Simon and went to MGM. In order to revive Paramount's declining film business in recent years, Martin Davis invited Rem to serve as Paramount Pictures director. The new CEO of the industry.
"That's not bad," Simon said, and after thinking for a while, he added: "In addition, take the time to arrange a departure party for Bob in the name of the company. All the courtesy should be given."
Amy nodded and said, "You are going to England next week, so it is scheduled to be in the middle of next month?"
"Wonder Woman" has been filming in the UK for two weeks. After the early run-in, some key scenes will start shooting next week.
As an independent project of Daenerys Entertainment, Simon can no longer just check the shooting samples regularly through remote control like "The Flash", but plans to rush there in person to follow up for a week.
"Let's arrange it for the end of July. In addition to the "Wonder Woman" matter, I also plan to go to Finland and maybe Italy. In the end, I may stay on the East Coast for a few days. AOL's IPO has been determined to be in July. 12th."
Amy agreed and added, "I'm really worried that one day you will completely stop caring about Daenerys Entertainment."
"I can't let it go," Simon said with a self-deprecating smile, "I am actually the kind of guy who has a strong desire for power."
Amy shook her head slightly, looked at Simon and said: "I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Daenerys Entertainment, as well as all other companies in the Westeros system, if you don't have personal control, it's hard to say what will develop into Look."
Simon took a sip of the coffee brought by the female assistant, nodded with a smile and said, "It's a nice compliment. I'll say this more often in the future."
Amy laughed, chatted for a while, and then talked about business: "I have completed the layoff quota of 1,000 people during this period. However, the company's production department and distribution department still have serious overstaffing problems. Many of the people who originally belonged to MCA Employees have also complained about us not bringing their salaries to the same level as Daenerys Entertainment employees, and some are still trying to contact the union to intervene."
After taking over MCA, Simon initially planned to lay off 3,000 people, reducing the total number of employees in the two companies from 15,000 to 12,000.
However, as soon as the matter became public, it attracted intense attention from the media, labor unions and federal government departments.
In order to avoid the two acquisitions that had just been settled at the time, Daenerys Entertainment had to quickly publicly promise to lay off only 1,000 people.
Before the merger, the salary level of Daenerys Entertainment employees was significantly higher than that of MCA and other studios in the same industry. Because the layoff plan was not fully implemented, Simon did not merge into Daenerys Entertainment as usual. The salary of MCA employees has been increased to a considerable level.
In addition, in order to divert employees, Simon also strengthened the construction of various overseas branches of Daenerys Entertainment during this period, and continued to dispatch many employees to overseas markets such as Europe, Latin America and Asia.
Now hearing Amy mention this matter again, Simon put away his expression, thought carefully for a moment and said: "As many employees as possible in the production and distribution departments can be sent out, and people can also be selected to be transferred to the record and game departments that Nancy is in charge of. These businesses are to a large extent common. In terms of salary, they can be given a formal notice, and if they want to adjust, it will have to wait until at least a year later, and the company needs to make an accurate assessment of their capabilities."
Amy said: "Actually, the main reason is that many people don't want to be sent abroad. Especially Eastern Europe, Latin America, and some countries in Asia, you know."
"These are the top priorities for Daenerys Entertainment's next overseas expansion. Even if we can't make money now, we can cultivate the market in advance and let people there become familiar with the Daenerys Entertainment brand. Sooner or later we will have success. Gained. The next expatriate plan, um... I will talk to Mark in person tomorrow. There is no need to be too accommodating to the employees' wishes. Since they have received their salary and hope to receive more in the future, they should accept the assignment."
Simon said this, thought about it for a moment, and added: "Let's wait until the beginning of next year. If there is still redundancy by then, we will conduct a second layoff. By then, it won't matter even if someone says anything."
The two then discussed the preparation progress of Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan. Amy also needs to leave Los Angeles and fly to Japan next week.
Just as he was talking, a greeting came from behind.
Simon turned around and saw that the female assistant came with a middle-aged man, so he and Amy stood up together.
The visitor's name was Tom Pollack, the former president of Universal Pictures, a subsidiary of MCA.
Tom Pollack is in his forties, not tall, with a typical Jewish big nose, some baldness, and a pair of very recognizable droopy eyes.
MCA's Chairman Lou Vassalman and President Sid Sheinberg officially resigned after the transaction was completed, only taking on the title of consultant of whatever nature they were.
After the merger of the two companies, because Amy needed to take charge of the entire Daenerys Entertainment and could no longer take care of Daenerys Films, Simon kept Tom Pollack.
After this period of adjustment, Tom Pollack is now president of Daenerys Pictures, and is also responsible for the split and integration of Universal Pictures and Daenerys Entertainment's three brands.
As the core film label under Daenerys Entertainment, Simon handed over the president's position to Tom Pollack, which seemed to be a challenge to Ella Deutschman, president of Highgate Pictures, and Danny Moore, president of New World Pictures. The two 'old men' Reese are a bit unfair, but in fact, Tom Pollack's authority is much smaller than that of the other two.
Gaomen Pictures and New World Pictures will further form two independent production and distribution systems focusing on their own subject areas.
Therefore, Deutschmann and Danny Morris both belong to the level of feudal officials.
In Daenerys Pictures, the real power is still in the hands of Simon. Tom Pollack only plays a supporting role and is mainly responsible for the department's contract negotiations, personnel communication, budget formulation and other administrative matters.
As the core creative power of a studio, Tom Pollack cannot get involved. The distribution of the label's films will also be handled by Mark Belford, who is about to take over Robert Rehm's position.
Moreover, Tom Pollack's original position as director of MCA's Cineplex-Odeon theater chain was also replaced by Nancy Brill.
However, Tom Pollack himself is not satisfied with his current situation, but he does not have too many complaints.
Even a little lucky.
Because of Simon's insistence on control of MCA, Tom Pollack originally thought that after the deal was concluded, he would need to leave like Lou Vassalman and Sid Sheinberg, but he did not expect to be able to stay.
You know, today's Hollywood is a carrot and a pit.
The studios that had just shrunk again from the Big Eight to the Big Seven, for equal positions, Warner Bros. had Terry Semel, Columbia had Peter Cooper and Jon Peters, Fox had Joe Roth, and MGM had Snow. Leigh Lansing, Disney has Jeffrey Katzenberg.
The last Paramount is basically locked in by Robert Reim, who is about to leave Daenerys.
As for Daenerys, her troops are even stronger.
Tom Pollack is not like Vassalman and Sheinberg who can get a large amount of money to directly support his retirement. He is only in his forties and he is not willing to just support his retirement. But if he leaves, the first-tier studios will not have him. Due to his position, second- and third-tier studios cannot accommodate him, and no suitable position can be found in the short term.
Now, being able to get the position of president of Daenerys Pictures does not have much power, but it is Daenerys Pictures, a subsidiary of Daenerys Entertainment. Executives with some experience in Hollywood understand that this is definitely a very gold-plated position.
Hollywood studio executives are always changing. If you stay in this position for a few years, even if you can't climb up, you will definitely be able to easily get a studio head with real power like Robert Rehm when you leave. person position. In fact, it is not impossible even for the person in charge of the entire media group at a higher level.
Everyone said hello and Amy left to go about her own business.
Simon did not go back to the office next to him, and continued to sit at the table and chairs in the sitting area next to the floor-to-ceiling windows with a wide view and talked about work with Pollack.
"I met with the agents of Robert Redford and Adrian Lyne respectively in the morning. The two people should have communicated privately. Compared with the initial base salary of US$5 million plus 15% of the local box office gross revenue, this time both I made some concessions. I finally negotiated the share ratio to 10%, and Adrian's basic salary was reduced to 3 million."
Tom Pollack was talking about the "Peach Deal" project co-operated by Daenerys Entertainment and Paramount.
After Brian De Palma withdrew due to concerns that he could not handle the subject, Simon extended an invitation to the film's original director Adrian Lyne.
Speaking of Adrian Lyne, not many people may know it, but when it comes to "Nine and a Half Weeks to Love You", Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger's various flowers will probably immediately come to many people's minds. Lingering style.
Adrian Lyne is the director of "Nine and a Half Weeks."
However, although "9 and a Half Weeks" is famous for its controversy, it is not Adrian Lyne's best-grossing film. In fact, "9 and a Half Weeks" did very poorly at the box office. Adrian Lyne's highest-grossing film was "Fatal Attraction," starring Michael Douglas, which grossed $300 million worldwide four years ago.
Prior to this, Adrian Lyne had also filmed "Flashdance", which ranked among the top ten at the box office in 1983. That musical film, which was roughly based on "Grease", also caused strong controversy, but it grossed US$4 million. It earned more than 90 million US dollars at the box office in North America alone, ranking third on the annual box office list at the time.
Despite successes like "Flashdance" and "Fatal Attraction," the box office performance of Adrian Lyne-produced films has been inconsistent over the years.
After "Fatal Attraction", Adrian Lyne collaborated with Bruce Joy Robin, the gold medal screenwriter who became famous with "The Last Days" last year. The production cost was US$25 million, but the North American box office failed. Just over $26 million.
Coupled with the director's low production pace of directing one movie every three years on average, it is difficult for Lane to maintain a first-rate salary.
Simon listened to Tom Pollack's general introduction and was very satisfied with the results of his work.
Since the two want to share, Robert Redford's basic salary of US$5 million and Adrian Lyne's basic salary of US$3 million are exactly what Simon expected.
As for the 10% local box office gross revenue share, this refers to the 10% of the box office share that Daenerys Entertainment gets from theaters. If calculated based on a local box office of US$100 million and a studio split of 55%, 10% is roughly equivalent to US$5.5 million.
As long as the two of them can ensure that the domestic box office of "Peach Deal" exceeds 100 million, they will each take away another 5.5 million US dollars, which is what they deserve.
Tom Pollack confirmed that Simon had no objection to the two salary plans, and then said: "In this case, I will sign the contract with Bob and Ryan as soon as possible. In addition, the salary quotation given by Demi Moore's agent is 500 I have negotiated with ICM several times, but they have not given up. They said that Moore has no shortage of film contracts."
Demi Moore is the original heroine of "The Deal".
Simon has been hesitant about whether to let Demi Moore play this role again. He has read the original book and script and feels that the heroine Diana should be the type of Xiao Jiabiyu.
As for Demi Moore.
Perhaps it was because he had so many memories of the other party's messy scandals that it was difficult for Simon to put Moore into this role.
Hearing what Tom Pollack said at this time, Simon thought for a moment and said: "In this case, forget it Demi, you try to contact Valerie."
"Valerie Golino?"
Simon nodded and said, "Yes. Her performance in "Rain Man" fits Diana's temperament very well."